Belt buckle



Aug. 14, 1928.

Filed Aug. 13, 1925 G. wfTRooP BELT BUCKLE /A/VE/VTOR George WTraop kATTORNEY Patented Aug. 14, 1928.

UNITED STATES GEORGE W. Timor, or hGENEVA, onIo. i

`:BELT BUCKLE.

Application led August 13, 1923. Serial No. 657,0$0.=

My invention relatesk to belt buckles and especially to buckles whereby, both ends of `the belt may be held in detachable engagement therewith without puncturing the belt.

My buckle structure is especially suitableV for use with` belts of some form of rubber composition, though it may be used with belts ofA any composition y having adequate resiliency, even of various kinds of leather or textile material. g

It is a special object of my improved buckle to provide for ready manipulation thereof in adjusting either end of the belt, and to do this with a minimum number of parts, thus tending to simplicity of construction and low costof manufacture.

It is a further object of my new and irnproved buckle to provide such structure that possesses great ease of clamping and releasing either end of the belt, whose pivotal parts may be readily manipulated through the intermediacy of the'straps without direct manual contact with the clamping parts of f the buckle, vand which notwithstandingl suchease of movement, presents great certainty `of action and positivecontrol in either release or adjustment. v

With these and other objects in view, I have described the detailed structure inthe following specification, recited ,it in the' appended claims and illustrated itin the accompanying drawingsin which Figure 1 is a plan view of ymy improved buckle vwith a belt in position therein,

:i5 Figure 2 is a longitudinal section taken on the line 2-2 oifFig. 1; Y

Figure 8 is a similar view but showing the parts partly disengaged, and

Figure 4.is an inverted plan viewof lhe 40 buckle only.

In the drawings in which similar reference characters indicate like parts throughout the several views, A designates the main frame part of my buckle which is shown applied to a belt having the usually-fixed end D and overlapping end E, B the clamping member hinged to A, and C the loop member which in my buckle isV itself hinged to the clamp member B.

The main frame part A comprises the front plate portion 10, side flanges 11, a transverse bar 12 which is spaced Vfrom the front plate by a relatively broad slot 13, the latter having slightly extended portions 22.

Flanges 11 have somewhat enlarged portions or lugs 23 for mounting the part B thereon.

vbya slot 19 of adequate width to permit in- .belt buckle will now be explained. decided andpositive advantage of my struc- The clamping member B comprises the? camy toe 17 for engaging the permanent end D` of the strap or belt and isshown in Fig.

4 'as having clamping teeth l18 for engaging 60 the belt end, a bent part 16 integral with 17, and a reduced central portion 21 cut away from the main end 16, as shown at24 in, Fig. 4, and looped upon itself to form an eye for hinged engagement with the loop member C. `The member B `is hinged tothe lugs 23 by means' of lateral extensions 25 integral with part B and pivoted in aper-v tures 26 in said lugs. Beyond the loop -21 is an extension 27 which serves to avoid rock- 7 ing of part B too far, by contact thereof with theplate 10. Y

The loop member C comprises the plat-e 14, an vend transverse bar 2O spaced from 14 sertion ot the belt therethrough, a cut-out centralV portion 28'to receive loosely therein the loop 21, but having .integral therewith inwardly extending' lugs 15 which are .rel ceived in the ends yof said loop 21, thereby 8U' hinging Cto B.

`The operation. ot' my new and improved It is a ture that `the greater the strain on the ends H5 of the belt when my buckle is applied thereto, the tighter andlmore secure becomes the attachment there1n,and yet this does not diminish in' any way the ease with which the parts may be released. This will appear as 9U Ythe operation is'` shown. To attachthe fixed end to the buckle,V the tip E o'l' the belt first threaded through 19,as shown in Fig. 3, or the part 20may be directly grasped manually, as it will be seenV that the latter part is always in some position to be readily grasped without picking the same out of contact with another plate. If the belt is in the slot 19, pulling the belt in the doubled relation shown in Fig. 3downward, willre- 100 lease both parts- C and B which will then swing together on the pivots 25,'the teeth 18 then swinging to the right in Fig. 3 and permitting the insertion of the end D of the belt between the parts 10 and 17. -It will'be 105 noted that releasing 2O and C may also release 27 from the plate 10. i While holding parts A and12 in the left hand, parts 20, 14 and B may be manipulated with the right to lock the parts 17 110 and 18 into engagement with the belt end D, as shown in Fig. 3. The last step in attaching thev buckle, is to thread the tip end E of the belt through slot 19, if it has not already been done, pass it over tlieace of the plate 10 and through the slot 13, when the parts will be attached securely, as shown in Fig. 2. The stationary end o f thebelt D cannot become loosened without swinging 17 and 18 on their pivots Q5, and the constant stress on the belt loo'pD E passing through 19 pulls in that direction upon partl 16 ot B to prevent such loosening. `Fifictionon bars 1 2 and 20, the latter' binding uopn` the end ot' 10 holds end E to the mainpart A of the buckle. Part 2 also prevents rotation of B inthe other direction. So all parts are Well held in clamped position as long as any strain whatever is exerted outward upon the belt and buckle. The belt end need be released Jtrom but one bar -12- to open the buckle, since part C is ready to swing open Whenever inner pressure is Withdrawn from it. Thus an inner ["orce exerted upon the loop or bar 2O directly or by the belt may be employed to readily release not only the tip end but the stationary end also of the belt l'rom the buckle.

l do not desire to limit myself: to the exact details of my improved buckle an embodi ment of which is here shown, but I expressly reserve all, protection properly accruing under the doctrine of equivalents.

That I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent isf v1. A belt buckle comprising a flanged lrontplate, a clamping member Ypivotedto the lianges, a loop element pivoted to said clamping member 4:tor actuating the latter, the said loop element being movable toward and from said front plate and itselfy comprising a plate and a `transverse barv connected with the plate at itsends and spaced from said plate intermediate the ends, the said bar beingxbent outwardly from the loop plate in a direction toward the said front plate, and the transverse bar being sutilciently spaced from the outer end ol the liront plate when the buckle is in closed position, to permit a belt being inserted through the space between the said bar and said outer end, and the space between the bar and the loop plate.

2. A beltI buckle comprising a main frame niemberluwing va trout plate yand a transverse bar spaced from one end thereof for receiving the 'free end ol a belt through auch space, a swinging member mounted upon the inside'of said plate and having means for engaging the stationary end of a belt, means comprising a part pivoted tosaid swinging member `tor actuating the latter, and a transverse bar extending in overlapping and spaced relation to the other end of said Jfront plate whereby the insertion ol' the tree end ot the belt through the Spaces ad- ]aeent both said bars and over the plate will clamp said tree end in adjusted vposition and thereby hold the swinging men'lber in positive engagenlent with the stationary end of the belt.

3. A buckle comprising a front plate. lside flanges integral therewith, and a spaced bar at one end thereof, a clamping member pivoted on said flanges and having means at one end for engaging the belt, hinge means adjacent the opposite end, and an ex tension element beyond the hinge means for co'i'itacting the said plate. to limit the swinging movement of the engaging means, and a loop element connected toy said hinge meansV upon said clamping member including a plate member and a bar spaced therefrom overlapping the opposite end of the front plate when the buckle is closed, but sullioiently spaced therefrom to receive a belt therebetween;

In testimony whereof I hereunto a'Hix my signature. i

GEORG-E W. TROOI. 

